Hoo!
Hoo hoo!
Under the moonlight, the cold wind blew.
Chen Jiuyang practiced martial arts alone in an open space, his palms and fists moving in tandem, unleashing terrifying heat waves and surging qi and blood.
He wished to experience the exhilarating feeling of combat, not the oppressive might of a divine being.
"Divine abilities are invincible, but what does invincible mean?"
Chen Jiuyang pondered as he practiced.
"And what are divine abilities?"
He had experienced the feeling of divine might and divine might like a prison, and it was also present in the medical immortal's inheritance.
However, in the depths of his consciousness, Chen Jiuyang felt he should use divine intent techniques less and qi and blood moves less, so as to be less influenced by the path of divine might like a prison.
"What are divine abilities?"
As Chen Jiuyang moved, the phantom aura of his fists and palms could be seen, his momentum like a flood, unstoppable.
But this was only momentum, not spirit.
The strong wind soared, but he felt nothing, leaving Chen Jiuyang feeling somewhat empty and stifled.
"Marquis Xuanyang is still practicing martial arts at this hour, truly diligent and hardworking."
Liu Hanguang walked out from the side with a chuckle.
"Hoo!"
Chen Jiuyang exhaled, a visible wisp of white smoke emerging from his mouth.
Liu Hanguang's eyelids twitched: "Exhaling like an arrow, such a strong physique and external training."
Chen Jiuyang slowly concluded his practice and asked, "Constable Liu, is there something you need from me in the dead of night?"
"Someone attempted to break into the prison and abducted several members of the Zhu family," Liu Hanguang said solemnly.
"Daring to break into the Six Doors prison? That's like poking a badger in its den," Chen Jiuyang's eyes narrowed, his voice turning cold: "Constable Liu, do you know who the abductors were?"
"The Zhu family has been established in Ziyang County for hundreds of years, with complex backing forces. However, at this particular juncture, there are only two groups likely to attempt such a jailbreak."
"One is the Four Clans and Sixteen Sects, but doing so would be tantamount to treason, and they are not foolish enough for that."
"The other group is those who have their sights set on the Zhu family's wealth..."
"You mean the Heavenly King Alliance?" Chen Jiuyang asked.
"It's not them," Liu Hanguang replied. "It's a group of people who had business dealings with the Zhu family, from Yun Province. They visit Ziyang County every few months."
"What kind of business could a small Zhu family have, unless it's something passed down from their ancestors that is worth these people risking treason and breaking into the Six Doors to abduct them."
Liu Hanguang said, "Indeed, it's likely this group saw the Zhu family in distress and seized the opportunity. These people are powerful, and I have already dispatched drones to track them. I came to find Marquis Xuanyang tonight to ask him to join me in eliminating this group and upholding the laws and discipline of our Dragon Kingdom."
"No problem," Chen Jiuyang readily agreed. He was currently at a bottleneck in his martial arts and naturally yearned to encounter powerful experts and gain enlightenment through life-and-death struggles.
"Good, I, Liu Hanguang, have not misjudged you. You are truly straightforward," Liu Hanguang laughed heartily, then leaped forward, his true qi erupting, and he shot off into the distance.
Chen Jiuyang followed suit, stepping and sprinting after him.
At night, the two men sped towards the mountain where the Zhu family residence was located.
Along the way, Liu Hanguang noticed that Chen Jiuyang was not using his true qi, but running solely on physical strength, and yet he could keep pace with him. This astonished Liu Hanguang; this Marquis Xuanyang was truly remarkable, his physique so incredibly powerful.
However, he did not know that Chen Jiuyang was intentionally not using his true qi, but rather forging his physique, seeking the true meaning of martial arts, and honing his path of divine abilities.
On their journey, Chen Jiuyang asked, "What was the status and position of the Zhu family members who were abducted?"
"They were elders in charge of the Zhu family's assets, with a cultivation of the Yellow realm in martial arts."
The two arrived at the foot of the mountain. The Zhu family residence was eerily quiet, with no sign of anyone.
"It seems it's not here..." Liu Hanguang frowned. "The Zhu family has been located here for hundreds of years. If there's anything valuable, it should be hidden here."
"Don't put all your eggs in one basket," Chen Jiuyang's eyes were distant. "Although the Zhu family residence is located here, the deceased members of the Zhu family throughout the generations do not seem to have been buried here."
"If it's something that cannot be bought with money, it would be most reliable to bury it in a grave. Perhaps they abducted the Zhu family members to force them to reveal the location of a certain grave."
Chen Jiuyang voiced his speculation.
"There seems to be such a possibility," Liu Hanguang frowned and pondered for a moment, then quickly took out his phone to call and inquire about the location of the Zhu family's burial grounds.
In big cities, cremation was already common, but in small places like Ziyang County, traditional burial was still practiced, let alone for aristocratic families hidden in the mountains.
If it were ordinary items, clues could have been extracted by interrogating the Zhu family members within the Six Doors prison. However, risking treason to break into prison and abduct them likely meant something more.
In the wilderness, the graves of many high-ranking officials and nobles indeed held many valuable items.
Soon, Liu Hanguang received a reply: "Five kilometers ahead, a place by the mountains and water is the Zhu family's ancestral burial ground."
"Let's go," Chen Jiuyang drew his Yan Sheng blade and sprinted forward, his movements like a dragon, covering nearly ten meters in the blink of an eye, accompanied by a surge of hot wind.
Under the moonlight, the Zhu family's ancestral burial ground.
This mountain faced east, its vegetation lush and green. A river flowed from east to west at the foot of the mountain. The entire mountain, with hundreds of densely packed graves bearing tombstones, held no sense of gloom or eeriness.
"Purple qi flows back, the mountain stands firm." A martial artist dressed in the robes of the Yun Province Gu clan sneered, "This Zhu family has truly found an excellent feng shui location for their burial ground."
Looking around, many graves had incense tables and candles placed before them, as if people visited to clean and pay respects every few days.
"It's a pity, the Zhu family's incense offerings will likely have no one to tend to them from today onwards."
"Speak, your Zhu family ancestors in Ziyang County were direct descendants of the sage Zhu Xi. Which one is his tomb?"
"You wish to desecrate my Zhu family's ancestral graves, this is an act of great rebellion. My Zhu family members would never do such a thing," an elderly Zhu family member with white hair said indignantly.
Facing Chen Jiuyang's suppression, they were the ones who had first exploited the people of Ziyang County, thus they surrendered willingly.
However, these people before them were acting for personal gain, and how could the elder Zhu family agree?
The martial artist in Gu clan robes sneered, "Your Zhu family has done little that is not rebellious. You old fools have no right to speak such high-minded words."
"Why waste words with him? We can directly use Gu worms to control him and force him to reveal the truth. We broke into the Six Doors prison, this is treason, and if discovered, the consequence is death," another person said.
"Very well, although these Gu worms are precious, they are nothing compared to the path to heaven hidden by the Zhu family ancestors. It's truly a waste of heaven's bounty."
Saying this, a dark, wriggling worm was taken from a small bottle and forced directly into the throat of the elder Zhu family member.
The elder Zhu family member's body trembled, his seven orifices bled, and then he raised his hand, pointing towards an inconspicuous grave in the center of the mountain. Moments later, his body collapsed, his life force extinguished.
"The path to heaven left by the sage Zhu Xi. This group of fools from the Zhu family did not know how to utilize it, letting it remain hidden for hundreds of years. It is truly a waste of divine resources." The two men's faces lit up with joy, and they slowly walked towards the Zhu family's ancestral grave.
"Clang!"
A sharp long saber flew through the air and embedded itself in the ground, blocking their path.
A cold, sharp young male voice echoed in the air:
"The item is good, but you likely don't have the life to enjoy it."